El microcrédito como instrumento de empoderamiento de las mujeres que laboran en los mercados de la ciudad de Loja

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to design a credit product for women who work at the markets in Loja, whose daily struggle for economic independence through commercial activities focused mainly on food has enabled them to earn and manage economic resources. These represent the main tool of their feminine empowerment in their nuclear family. As providers of their own economic resources, working towards an improvement in the standard of living from Monday to Sunday for 365 days a year, these women watch their effort being destroyed by the moneylenders. This condemns them to an eternal relationship of dependency where the rate of the debt growth correlates to the depletion of their accumulated resources. Forced to turn to this source of finances as their only choice, they are exploited by the high level of interest they have to pay on their debts. A way to support the empowerment of this group of women is to design a credit product tailored to their needs, understanding primarily the environment in which they work, identifying their beliefs, behaviors and preferences. This product would be designed to meet their needs, support their business capital, ix allow for the growth of resources and improve the standard of living of these vulnerable women